Lid for Glasses

ABSTRACT

A concave lid including a depression, such as a notch compatible with a user&#39;s finger or thumb to apply pressure on the concave lid toward a glass. The depression may include anti-slip ridges to keep the user&#39;s fingertip from slipping when pressure is applied by the user. The concave lid has a portion for indicia that is readable from the outer surface of the concave lid. The concave lid may include a textured portion on its lower surface, such as a band of texture, to create friction and prevent the concave lid from slipping with respect to the glass. The concave lids are preferably stackable and made of clear plastic or glass.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/636,377 filed on 28 Feb. 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates to a lid adapted for use with a glass. More specifically, the disclosure relates to a concave lid with a depression in the concave lid.

BACKGROUND

The focus of this disclosure is a lid for covering a glass. In a preferred use, the situation with respect to wine is described, but it is understood that backyard use avoiding bees into glasses of soda pop and other uses are within the scope of this background and disclosure.

Throughout the wine industry, fruit flies can be a problem for tasting rooms, winemaking facilities and production areas, especially after harvest, during fermentation and for several months thereafter. There is a lack of elegant, affordable solutions for preventing insects and debris from contaminating a wine glass, especially for wine that is poured into glasses in advance of a tasting or at the beginning of an event. A purpose of commercial wine tastings is often to sell wine, and serving wine enhances many events.

The wine tasting experience involves many different sensations—taste, appearance, color, and smell. The appearance of wine can be affected by insects and debris that may find their way into a glass. In wine tasting, wine is often smelled before being tasted to identify components of the wine that may be present. That smell may be altered by allowing the wine to breath or concentrating the aroma inside the glass.

Certain prior art would be compatible for use with the disclosed glass lid. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,089,233 discloses a wine glass constructed from molded plastic including an upper body defining an upwardly narrowed flume for concentrating the wine bouquet, in combination with a contoured lower base defining an annular moat surrounding a central punt for enhanced visual inspection of the wine. In addition, the upper body further includes a notched indent at an outboard side thereof forming a shelf for facilitated fingertip grasping and manipulation of the assembled glass. A removable flat lid can be adapted for removable mounting as by snap fit connection onto the upper body component to close the mouth of the assembled glass. The '233 patent's flat lid may include a writable frosted region to accommodate a variety of (wine) glass diameters identifying the vintage contained within the glass.

Prior known flat lids for glasses are known to be made from glass, stainless steel mesh, plastic, or silicone, which certain of these materials are more expensive. An improved lid for a glass is desirable to enhance use of glasses. As such, improvements are needed in and to lids for glasses, wherein the lid improves use of glasses, such as wine glasses to enhance presentation, enjoyment and sale of wine. The present disclosure fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure presents a concave lid for a glass. A concave disc measuring approximately 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) could sit on the rim of many drinking glasses, such as wine glasses. The concave aspect is preferable for engaging the glass and looking more elegant.

As particular to a preferred use with wine or otherwise, the concave lid can prevent insects and debris from entering the glass. Bugs are attracted to wine, and small black insects can ruin the taste, presentation and enjoyment of wine. Similarly, bees are attracted to soda pop, and can present danger to the unsuspecting user of a glass or can.

As such, the concave lid allows drinks to be pre-poured, whether at a wine tasting or outdoor event, party, banquet, or public/private gathering. The concave lid is also suitable to be sold by retailers for general public use.

The concave lid allows for customization, identification, and branding. Customization could identify certain features of the intended beverage in the glass. Identification could designate the vintage, year, brand or other characteristic of the beverage in the glass. Similarly, the lid could include the trademark of the source of the wine or other beverage, or the name of an event.

Further, with respect to wine in particular, the concave lid can increase the concentration of wine aromas to enhance the perceivable bouquet of the wine. The wide array of fruit, earthy, floral, herbal, mineral and woodsy flavor perceived in wine are derived from aroma. The lid can assist in capturing and concentrating more aromatics within the glass for the wine taster to detect.

Similarly, swirling the wine can increase available surface area, increasing the rate at which aroma molecules volatilize. Swirling agitates the molecules, releasing the smells into the air, which collect in the glass.

Compatible with swirling wine, the concave lid includes a depression, such as a notch or dimple, to help the user hold the lid in place on the glass to allow for swirling of wine in the glass to “open up” the wine, enhancing the aroma and bouquet. Similarly, a textured portion on the bottom side of the concave lid can help keep the lid in the desired place on the glass. A band of texture can create friction a prevent the lid from slipping with respect to the rim of the glass. The concave feature of the lid also facilitates the lid sitting on the rim of a glass, both while resting and being swirled.

Like the wine glass disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,089,233, the disclosed concave lid for a glass can be made of molded plastic as an example to be compatible with that wine glass (or wine glasses of any material). It is understood that the concave lid may be made of glass material to be compatible with a wine glass made of a similar or the same glass material. The presently disclosed depression may serve a similar function as the notched indent facilitating grasping with a fingertip or thumb.

The preferred lids may be seated within the rim of a wine glass, and the lids are stackable and nestable so that they can be stored with less space, packaged more easily, and generally take up less space when stacked or nested.

The customization or branding enabled by the concave lid may allow the user to retain the lid to purchase the type or brand of product, such as to later recall favorite tasted wines. Customization may include listing or showing pairing with the wine, and the concave lid may even function as a serving platter upon which to rest the pairing while the concave lid is resting on a glass. Being affordable allows the taster to keep the lid (and write additional information) to purchase wine or even keep as a souvenir.

The disclosed concave lid is preferably elegant, shatterproof, dishwasher safe, affordable, reusable, and recyclable.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features of this disclosure and the manner of obtaining them will become more apparent, and the disclosure itself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptions of lids considered in conjunction with the accompanying figures, which are given as non-limiting examples only, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a lid above a glass;

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the lid placed on the glass;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a concave lid with a depression;

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional side view of the lid through the depression;

FIG. 5 shows a top view of the lid with the depression adjacent to indicia;

FIG. 6 shows a side view of a concave lid having an oval depression and a textured portion;

FIG. 7 shows a top view of the lid having the oval depression and the textured portion;

FIG. 8 shows a top view of a concave lid with an oval depression, a textured portion, and indicia;

FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of a concave lid having a depression with ridges centered on the lid;

FIG. 10 shows a side view of a concave lid having a depression with a flattened edge that forms a lip;

FIG. 11 shows a top view of a concave lid having a centered depression with ribs; and

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of the concave lid of FIG. 11 through the centered depression and the middle rib.

The exemplifications set out herein illustrate embodiments of the disclosure that are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner. Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the present disclosure may be susceptible to embodiments in different forms, the figures show, and herein described in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the present descriptions are to be considered exemplifications of the principles of the disclosure and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the details of construction and the arrangements of components and steps set forth in the following description or illustrated in the figures.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show side views of a concave lid 10 first above a glass 12 and then placed on the rim 14 of the glass 12. The concave lid 10 may be seated on the glass 12 to completely cover the opening of the glass 12.

The concave lid 10 may be a polymer, such as copolyester, a transparent plastic, such as transparent polystyrene, or a silicone, or glass, or other suitable material. The concave lid 10 may be colored and translucent in its entirety or specific portions. The concave curve of the lid is preferably shaped so lids can be stackable and nestable. The outer edge 16 of the concave lid 10 is preferable circular, but its shape may be altered to be an octagon or similar ornamental shape.

As shown in FIGS. 3 through 5, the concave lid 10 includes a depression 20, such as a notch which is narrow but sufficiently deep to accommodate convenient engaging of the concave lid 10 with the user's fingertip or thumb. As shown in FIG. 5, the depression 20 includes anti-slip ridges or ribs 18, which help keep the user's fingertip from slipping within the depression 20 when pressure is applied by the user. The depression 20 is shown as a boat-tail notch having a flat edge 40 at the base 42 of the depression 20 closest to the edge 16 of the lid. The preferred notches can be aligned when the concave lids 10 are stacked or nested. The horizontal depth of the depression 20 extends deeper than the concave curve of the concave lid 10, and the thickness of the concave lid 10 is generally consistent so that the concave lids 10 can be stackable or nestable when the depression 20 of each concave lid 10 is aligned.

The depression 20 being at a side toward the outer edge 16 allows for more surface area for indicia 22, such as a brand name, to be printed or written on the outer surface 24 or reverse printed on the lower surface 26. The indicia 22 is preferably readable from the outer surface 24 of the concave lid 10. Ideally, the indicia 22 is oriented with the depression 20 so the user can read the indicia 22 while having his or her index finger or thumb in the depression 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the indicia 22 is centered on the long axis extending from the depression 20.

As shown in FIGS. 6 through 8, the concave lid 10 includes a depression 20, such as an oval (or boat-tail) depression in the center of the concave lid 10. As an example, the concave lid 10 may be approximately 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) in diameter, with the depression 20 being one inch (25.4 mm) in the longer direction, 0.625 inch (15.87 mm) in the narrower direction, and greater than or equal to 0.125 inch (3.17 mm) deep, such as 0.600 inch (15.24 mm) deep. The preferred depression allows the concave lids 10 to be stackable while minimizing rotation of the concave lids 10 as stacked. The depression 20 preferably is oriented with the indicia 22. As shown in FIG. 8, the indicia 22 is centered on the long axis extending from the depression 20 and offset to be readable if the user has a fingertip placed in the depression 20.

Another feature of the depression 20 with the dimensions of these embodiments of FIGS. 6 through 12 is that when the concave lid 10 is resting on a surface, such as a table, with the outer edge 16 upward, only the depression 20 touches the surface. In other words, the concave lid 10 is balanced such that the depression 20 as the only part touching the surface acts as a point on which the concave lid 10 can be made to spin like a toy top. The lower surface 26 surrounding the depression 20 would never touch the surface. Thus, the lower surface 26 of the concave lid 10 that touches the glass 12 does not touch the surface so, for example, no contaminants of a table surface would transfer to the lower surface 26 surrounding the depression 20.

As shown in FIGS. 9 through 12, the concave lid 10 includes a depression 20 substantially in the center of the concave lid 10. This depression 20 as shown allows the concave lids 10 to be stackable or nestable while minimizing rotation of the concave lids 10 with respective depressions 20 aligned as stacked or nested. The depression 20 is shown as a “boat-tail” notch (indentation or dimple), which allows for the placement of the index finger on the concave lid 10. The user can apply slight pressure with the index finger to help prevent the concave lid 10 from slipping when seated on the rim 14 of the glass 12. With the depression 20 centered in the concave lid 10, the index finger is the preferred finger for the user to hold the concave lid 10 on a glass 12, such as when swirling wine in the glass 12. The depression 20 as a boat-tail notch has a flat edge 40 that forms a lip 44 (as best seen in FIG. 10) at the base 42 of the depression 20. The remainder of the depression 20 is shown as a partial oval 46, which ideally corresponds to the size and shape of a fingertip, which may have a sidewall similar to the lip 44 around the entire depression 20.

The preferred depression 20 may also include anti-slip ridges or ribs 18, which help keep the finger from slipping within the depression 20 when pressure is applied by the user. The anti-slip ridges or ribs 18 can be molded into the concave lid 10 to provide added friction to hold the user's finger in place without slippage in the depression 20. Three anti-slip ridges or ribs 18 are shown in FIGS. 9 and 11.

The thickness of the concave lid 10 can vary with intended uses, but approximately 0.1 to 0.12 inches (2.54 to 3 mm) thick has proven preferred for uses with wine glasses so there is enough weight so the concave lid 10 is not easily flipped or blown off the glass 12.

In one embodiment, the finish of the concave lid 10 may be SPI A1 so that the concave lid 10 looks and feels like glass with a clear, highly polished look for the concave lid 10. Any text or recyclable symbol on the concave lid 10 would not be finished to SPI A1. In other embodiments, the concave lid 10 may be made or transparent or translucent glass. In any embodiment, the concave lid 10 may be made of a similar, the same, or compatible material of the glass 12.

Further, the concave lid 10 may have a textured portion 30, such as the band of texture 32, on the lower surface 26 of the concave lid 10. The band of texture 32 as an example may extend inward from the outside edge 16 of the concave lid 10, such as 0.75 inch (19.05 mm) as the texture width as shown in FIGS. 6 through 8. Whether to include a band of texture 32 depends on how much slippage of the concave lid 10 is anticipated with respect to the glass 12, and may depend on the thickness and materials used to make the concave lid 10.

The disclosed concave lid 10 is preferably shatterproof, dishwasher safe, affordable, reusable, and recyclable, and can be customized.

This disclosure has been described as having exemplary embodiments and is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations using its general principles. It is envisioned that those skilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalents without departing from the scope of the disclosure as recited in the claims. Further, this disclosure is intended to cover such variations from the present disclosure as come within the known or customary practice within the art to which it pertains. 

What is claimed is: 1-6. (canceled)
 7. A concave lid adapted for use with a glass, the concave lid including a depression with anti-slip ridges, the depression has a flat edge and a remainder of the depression is a partial oval that corresponds to the size and shape of a fingertip, wherein the concave lid is adapted for the user to apply pressure on the depression with the user's index finger to hold the concave lid on a rim of the glass.
 8. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein the concave lid is stackable with other concave lids when depressions of each concave lid are aligned.
 9. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein the depression is centered in the concave lid.
 10. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein the depression is adjacent to an edge of the concave lid with the flat edge at a base of the depression closest to the edge of the concave lid.
 11. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein the flat edge forms a lip that is part of the depression,
 12. The concave lid of claim 9 that is can be balanced on a bottom portion of the depression so that when resting on a surface with an outer edge upward, only the bottom portion of the depression touches the surface so that a lower surface surrounding the depression would not touch the surface.
 13. A stackable concave lid adapted for use with a glass, a depression centered in the concave lid including the depression with anti-slip ridges, the depression has an edge forming a lip and a remainder of the depression is substantially oval that corresponds to the size and shape of a fingertip, wherein the concave lid is adapted for the user to apply pressure on the depression with the user's finger to hold the concave lid as seated on a rim of the glass.
 14. The stackable concave lid of claim 13 that is can be balanced on the depression so that when resting on a surface with an outer edge upward, only the depression touches the surface so that a lower surface surrounding the depression would never not touch the surface wherein, the lower surface of the concave lid that touches the glass does not touch the surface so contaminants of the surface would not transfer to the lower surface surrounding the depression.
 15. The stackable concave lid of claim 13 wherein the concave lid is made of a same material as the glass.
 16. The concave lid of claim 12 wherein the outer edge is circular so the concave lid is disc-shaped.
 17. The stackable concave lid of claim 14 wherein the outer edge is circular.
 18. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein the concave lid is a disc measuring 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) in diameter.
 19. The stackable concave lid of claim 13 wherein the stackable concave lid is a disc measuring 3.5 inches (88.9 mm) in diameter.
 20. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein a horizontal depth of the depression extends deeper than a concave curve of the concave lid,
 21. The stackable concave lid of claim 13 wherein a horizontal depth of the depression extends deeper than a concave curve of the concave lid.
 22. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein the depression is shaped as a boattail.
 23. The stackable concave lid of claim 13 wherein the depression is shaped like a boattail,
 24. The concave lid of claim 7 wherein the concave lid is made of transparent polymer, copolyester, or translucent glass.
 25. The stackable concave lid of claim 13 wherein the stackable concave lid is made of transparent polymer, copolyester, or translucent glass. 